The Way of the Center

The early morning sunshine gently spread over the city of Ames, illuminating this small American city with a total population of only 70,000. The streets of the city are empty, there are no congested cars, no busy pedestrians, so Ames has started a peaceful day in the warm weather of September.

George Ricard was chewing on the sandwich prepared by his wife, while browsing the newspaper casually. Reading the newspaper at breakfast was a habit he had acquired long ago. Rickard unconsciously turned the newspaper to the sports section, and quickly searched for news in the newspaper.

"Derrick Rose chose to join the University of Memphis! Rose: Playing under coach John Calipari will definitely improve me a lot."

The headline of this news is not bolded, and the content only occupies a small part of the sports section. This is normal, and most people don't care which college a high school player chooses to attend, even if that person is a high school star player. You must know that it is September now, and the transfer turmoil in the NBA is much more exciting than the selection of high school players. But George is more concerned about college basketball news, because he is the head coach of the local Iowa State University basketball team in Ames. And, he just took office.

"How's the breakfast?"

"It's amazing, Peggy." Ricard put down the newspaper and looked at his lover with a smile on his face. "I really want to enjoy this quiet morning more. You know, Chicago is full of hustle and bustle all day long." After speaking, Ricard looked at his watch, drank the rest of the coffee in his cup in one gulp, and got up Picked up the briefcase on the table. "I guess I'll have to go out, though."

"Good job my dear." Kissing his wife goodbye in front of the door, Ricard began his fourth day of work as a university head coach.

………………..

Ricard was previously the basketball coach of a high school in Chicago, and he led the team to a division championship last season. While being happy, Ricard unexpectedly received an invitation to coach from Iowa State University. The former head coach of Iowa State University is preparing to retire, and Ricard, who has performed well, has naturally become one of the candidates for succession.

Ames is a small city, far from being comparable to Chicago. And Iowa State University is just a mediocre team in the NCAA Big 12. It has no historic achievements. It has not produced any NBA stars from here. It is the only one who has a foothold in the NBA and was selected as an All-Star. Jeff Hornacek, who has also won two three-point shooting contests, is the only celebrity on the team. He once led the team to the top 16 of the NCAA in March Madness and defeated the No. 2 player at the time. The seeded team, the University of Michigan Wolves, was in 1986.

After that, Iowa State University began to gradually become mediocre and never recovered. However, being able to coach an NCAA Division I team was enough to get Ricard excited. So he didn't think much, accepted the invitation, and moved to Ames with his wife. Although this is not a big city, the temperature here is suitable, the transportation is convenient, and it has the reputation of a city with good law and order in the United States. So Ricard seems very happy these days, not only has he found his dream job, but he can also live in a peaceful and comfortable place.

………………..

But when it comes to the work situation, Ricard can't be happy at all.

He is a competitive person. When he was coaching in high school, he had strict requirements on his players, and his team will strive to win every game. This kind of personality makes Ricard very much want to change the mediocre results of Iowa State University every year, but it backfires. He doesn't have many choices in the team lineup. Without the support of outstanding players, it is undoubtedly a dream to change the results.

In the past few days, his work has been mainly focused on recruiting newcomers.

Their school is not like Duke and North Carolina. Every year, a large number of high school stars compete to join. There are no scouts scattered all over the world, and there are no high-value basketball scholarships to attract talented players. It is really a headache for him to find good players here.

On the way to his office, he passes one of the school's outdoor basketball courts, where students play after school. Every day when Ricard passed by here, he would stop and take a look, hoping to find surprises. However, in the past three days, there has been nothing that caught his eye. After all, most of the best players in this school are already on his team trial list. But today, he saw a guy who stunned him.

Ricard saw a big tall man with yellow skin and black hair on the court. He visually judged that this guy must be over 2.10 meters tall. Although he is thin, his muscles are obvious and he is very strong. The most eye-catching thing is his long arms, which must have exceeded his height. This man's physical condition is very good, now, Ricard wants to see how he plays the ball.

A huge black big man is the opponent player of the yellow-skinned guy, but the 2.03-meter "black big man" is still much shorter than the Asian. The yellow-skinned player is active and has a solid chassis. The opposing player tries hard to push him out, but he is unmoved.

The teammate lobbed the ball in, and the yellow-skinned guy received the ball steadily. Ricard became excited and stared at him intently, watching every movement of the yellow-skinned guy.

He began to dribble and hit his back. The first time, the big black man behind him took a big step back. Then, with the second time, he had already stepped into the three-second zone with one foot, and the matchup was still not enough. can stop him. Then, instead of using his body to continue to push in, he held the ball with both hands, turned around in the opposite direction of the basket with his left foot as the axis, lifted his feet off the ground, and turned over for a jump shot at close range.

"Although he is tall, he has a very soft touch. He is not a layman. He must have started playing basketball a long time ago." Ricard silently evaluated this Asian man in his heart. Sure enough, the ball hollowed out into the net with a perfect arc, a beautiful close-range shot.

"Good job, Ann!" The teammate who just passed the ball to him gave him a thumbs up. The yellow-skinned boy just smiled shyly, and then ran back to defend in his own half.

It was the opponent's turn to attack. On the offensive end, the players facing him still didn't have the slightest advantage, and they didn't even have a position. A guy with a fancy dribble on the other side easily passed his defender and then successfully broke through and was about to make a layup. At this time, no one seemed to have time to help defend. The opposing player rushed to the basket and sent the ball up. The basketball slowly rose, and it looked like a must-go goal. However, a huge figure is separated between the basketball and the basket. The yellow-skinned guy jumped up high, straightened his long arms, opened his big hands, and directly confiscated the rising ball.

"Catch the risk! My God!" Although the bounce is not outstanding, but thanks to his long arms and big hands, he is a good barrier on the defensive end. Seeing someone catch a risk on the field, even though the yellow-skinned guy caught a player much shorter than himself, Ricard was still a little shocked.

After the ball was confiscated, the yellow-skinned guy threw the ball to his teammate with a long pass, and the teammate caught the ball and made an easy layup. This height allows him to have a wide field of vision and a clear view on the court.

The next defensive Asian Boys team did a good job, and the tight press made the opponent force a shot. The moment the opposing player made a shot, the yellow-skinned boy immediately got stuck, his long arms spread out, and most of the penalty area was under his control.

Judging the landing point, the timing of take-off is a little bit early, but even so, no one can compete with him. His height and wingspan are much higher than others, so he still gets the rebound.

In the subsequent offense, he received a pass from his teammate at a position of 45 degrees to the left of the mid-range. Without hesitation, he immediately took off and shot. The opponent player also tried to jump up to interfere, but he could only reach the elbow of the yellow-skinned guy. Another soft shot, the basketball spun twice on the rim and still obediently entered the net.

………………..

Ricard just watched the whole game from the sidelines, even forgetting that he was fifteen minutes late for work. The performance of the yellow-skinned boy in the game was perfect. He has comprehensive post-up skills, soft shooting touch, solid chassis, and even more dominant defensive performance. Under his cover, no one on the opponent can score a point in the three-second zone. Recalling the performance of the yellow-skinned boy just now, Ricard felt as if he had found an undiscovered gold mine. With his physical condition and skills, as long as he trains hard, he can fully catch up with the NCAA competition next season.

"Come on kid, I need everyone who can play." Riccardo thought to himself, walking towards the yellow-skinned boy who was sweating profusely after playing.

"It was a great game today. With you here, we will definitely win the championship. Hey, Angelo will have a party at home tonight. Are you coming?" asked the teammate who had been passing the ball to the yellow-skinned boy just now.

"No Jason, I have to work part-time at a fast food restaurant tonight." The yellow-skinned boy waved his hand.

"Hey, you played well, kid, what's your name?" While the two were talking, a middle-aged man's voice suddenly came in. The yellow-skinned boy looked up, and saw Ricard standing in front of him.

"Ah?" The boy obviously didn't have time to respond to the stranger's sudden inquiry.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, forgot to introduce myself. I'm the new head coach of the Iowa State University Cyclones, and I'm looking for you to discuss your playing under me. The team is looking for new recruits. I just watched Your performance, I think you can come and have a try."

"About playing under your command? The Iowa State University Cyclones? You mean...you mean!" The yellow-skinned boy's eyes widened and he stood up abruptly. In an instant, Ricard had to try to look up at him.

"You mean, you can play at the NCAA Division I level!" His eyes widened, as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"Yes, the first level of the NCAA league." Ricard was very happy to see his reaction. He was still thinking about how to persuade him if the opponent refused, but now it seems that he was worrying too much.

"Oh my god, did you hear that Jason, this is incredible." The yellow-skinned boy was obviously very excited and was a little incoherent.

"By the way, my name is An Jie!" He said, stretching out his right hand.

Ricard also reached out and shook hands with him. "I'm George Ricard, so where are you from?"

"I'm from China, and I'm an international student of Pumei."

"China? Haven't the universities in your country seen your performance in the high school league?" Ricard thought to himself that with such an excellent height and wingspan, his performance in the Chinese high school league must be dominant.

A person with such physical conditions should have many Chinese universities scrambling to acquire him, and then let him embark on the road of professional basketball. Why did he come to America? And it wasn't for playing basketball, Ricard was a little puzzled.

"China's high school league is completely different from here. The school sports system in our country is quite different from that in the United States. And in China, most parents will not support their children to take the path of professional sports. "Speaking of the school sports system in his home country, An Jie felt a little helpless.

"By the way, coach, I have never received formal basketball training, and everything is practiced in the courts on the streets of China. In this way, can I really play in the NCAA?" An Jie is not a fool, he knows that the NCAA is not only a It's a simple college league, but it's a place to send basketball talents to the NBA and the world!

"Except for height, wingspan and love for basketball, I can teach you everything else. Of course, the premise is that you are willing to learn and be willing to endure hardships. You already have the first two things that I can't teach, and the rest depends on you. How's it going? If you want, come to the basketball court to report at 1 o'clock this afternoon." Ricard knew that this guy had many shortcomings, but at the same time he saw something in An Jie that others didn't have. There are too few traditional centers in the basketball world now, and An Jie's playing style and technical characteristics give him the potential to become an excellent traditional center.

A Chinese guy who loves basketball, now has a chance to play college basketball in the United States. It seemed like an offer no one could refuse.

"I'll be there on time, coach!" An Jie bowed politely to Ricard, smiling all over his face.

In 1981, 18-year-old Hakeem Olajuwon first knew what regular basketball was.

In 1987, 21-year-old Dikembe Mutombo was discovered by the school team coach and got in touch with basketball for the first time.

Although they came into contact with regular basketball late, in the end, both of them became a generation of legendary centers through hard training.

In 2007, the 18-year-old Anjie already had very good basic basketball skills. If he is willing to put in several times the effort of others, then anything can happen to this child...

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